The One Thing You Must Try at Fountainhead Market

It’ll make lunch at your desk so much better

A sandwich is a sandwich is a sandwich, right? Well, not if it’s from the newly opened Fountainhead Market in North Center. We discovered one that goes beyond your average lunchtime fare.

The smoky roasted-oyster and mushroom sandwich with balsamic onions and creamy goat-cheese spread on a soft wheat baguette ($8) is the standout at the little food-and-spirits shop. (It’s located right next door to neighborhood bar Fountainhead.) Wrapped up and ready to walk out the door, the market’s sandwiches can be paired with chips and a drink ($11).

Fountainhead chef Cleetus Friedman has stocked the shop with things he loves, most of which is made locally: tubs of fresh farm butter, organic sausage links, Spanish chorizo from West Loop Salumi, and salts, Sriracha powder and pork rub from The Spice House.

True to the bar’s deep whiskey menu, its namesake market has shelves lined with bottles and bottles of varieties you’ve never heard of--including ten of its own private-label, single-cask whiskeys.